Emperor & Chariot Social Link
by Reecie Girl
Summary: What if the other characters had social links with each other, instead of just Yu? This is the social link of Kanji Tatsumi and Chie Satonaka.
1. Rank 1

Late afternoon had settled onto Inaba one beautiful spring day. Kanji walked quietly home, alone as usual but he had long since stopped being bothered by that. After his experience in the T.V. world, he was trying his best to not let other people's opinions trouble him as much, so the few whispers he heard as he strolled were ignored. He was feeling pretty proud of himself as he turned the corner onto the riverbank.

"Hiyah!" Kanji stopped in his tracks, curious about where the strange noise he had just heard had come from. Looking around, he noticed his senpai, Chie, kicking at the air in a clearing near the river. He was about to continue walking, but thought better of it. Chie-senpai had already accepted him into her group of friends, so he shouldn't be afraid to talk to her or any of his senpais. In spite of this knowledge. Kanji's stomach was filled with knots of nervousness.

"H-hey! Chie-senpai!" Kanji called, walking over to her. Chie stopped what she was doing and turned towards him.

"Oh." Chie said, somewhat startled by Kanji's sudden appearance. "Hello Kanji. What's up?"

"Nothin' much." Kanji replied. "Just wondering what you're doing over here."

"Training!" Chie said happily, grinning from ear to ear. "We need to be ready for the T.V. world, right?" Kanji considered for a moment.

"Ya, I s'pose." he said. "But I can't think of any shadows that can stand up to a good Kanji pounding!" Kanji punched his hand, practically oozing confidence.

"How can you be so sure?" Chie asked. "You haven't been in that world as much as I have. They've been getting tougher each time. A little training never hurt anybody."

"Hmm...you do have a point...OK, I'm in!"

"What?" Chie said, confused.

"I'm in! I want to train too! Ain't no shadow gonna get the best of me!"

"Oh." Chie said, taken aback by Kanji's sudden outburst of interest. Her tone made Kanji start to worry. Maybe she wanted to train alone and he was imposing? Maybe she didn't want him around at all? Maybe the only reason his senpais put up with him at all was because they felt sorry for him? All of these ideas quickly spun around in his mind until Chie finally responded.

"Well, I usually train with Narukami, but the more the merrier, right? I'll let you know whenever we plan to meet up." Kanji smiled as all of his silly fears left his mind. He needed to get himself out of the mindset that everyone who meets him will automatically hate him. He was never going to make any friends that way.

"Cool," he said. "So...um, I'm not doing anything right now...Would you like some company?" Chie smiled at him.

"Sure! Let's get started..." Kanji set his bag down and started following Chie's training instructions. Her training set was pretty rigorous, which took Kanji by surprise. She was much tougher than she looked and she almost left him in the dust more than once. But he was happy for the exercise and they trained together until sundown.

Kanji and Chie feel a faint bond forming between them…


	2. Rank 2

Chie found herself in a clearing next to the Samegawa river, training with the last person she ever thought she would be: Kanji Tatsumi. She was afraid to speak to the guy less than a month ago and now she was letting him through punches at him! She would be forever grateful that he was on their side, however. And, even though he turned out to be a big softy at heart, he still hit like a freight train.

As they sparred, Chie dodged a punch and quickly swept Kanji's leg. He fell to the ground hard and Chie backed off, assuming he was going to back down. But then Kanji grabbed a handful of dirt, threw it at Chie's face, and jumped back up. Before her vision cleared, Kanji had her in an arm hold.

"OK! OK! I give!" Chie said and Kanji let her go. He looked pretty damn proud of himself, which pissed her off. "You cheated!"

"No I didn't!" Kanji protested. "I improvised. A shadow isn't gonna just give up because it looks like we're winning. They're gonna come up with a different way to come at us. You need to be ready for that, senpai."

"What shadow is going to throw dirt in our eyes?" Chie asked, feeling a bit embarrassed about letting him get the best of her. Kanji shook his head and made a face.

"You know what I mean! You have to stop thinking like an honorable kung fu master and more like a bare-knuckles brawler!"

"Soooo, like you?" Kanji smiled and shrugged.

"Hey, when you've got it, you've got it." he said, smug as hell. "Seriously though, what are you gonna do if you get jumped? Or have to fight an entire group alone? You can't always fight fair. And not just in the TV world. What if, I dunno...What if some muscle bound, half naked mad man in a cape jumped out of the shadows and attacked you?"

"A 'muscle bound, half naked mad man in a cape'?" Chie repeated, raising an eyebrow. Where did he get this stuff? "When is that ever gonna happen?"

"How do you know it won't? That's the point!"

"Whatever." Chie said, rolling her eyes. Then something occurred to her. "Well, you did take down an entire biker gang by yourself...maybe I should try to take some pointers from you."

"Um...thanks, I guess..." Kanji replied, clearly unsure whether or not she meant that as a complement. Chie laughed.

"Come on, let's stop talking about crazy caped men and try this again. Except this time, it'll be you calling it quits!"

"Bring it on!" Kanji said with a grin. Chie came at him with everything she had, determined to get him to concede. And, while she didn't beat him this day, she knew she was getting closer and closer with every kick, as well as getting closer to being able to protect all of the people she cared for. Including her newest friend, even though it was clear he didn't really need any help from her.

Kanji and Chie feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…


	3. Rank 3

Kanji walked over to to the sparing meeting spot after school one afternoon and was surprised by who he found there. Standing with Chie-senpai was a very familiar, gray haired individual. Chie-senpai had mentioned before that she had started training with Yu-senpai, but he never showed up when Kanji was there. With excitement rising up in his chest, Kanji jogged over to them.

"Hey Yu-senpai!" he called, waving.

"Hello Kanji." Yu-senpai replied with a smile. "Chie told me you train with her sometimes, too. Glad I could be here with both of you today."

"Alright!" Chie-senpai cheered. "I'm getting super pumped! How are we gonna do this?"

The group decided to do some basic warm-up moves, and then (through a rousing game of rock paper scissors) Chie-senpai and Yu-senpai were chosen to spar together first, while Kanji did some training exercisers alone and waited to face off against the winner. Kanji found it hard to concentrate on his training, however. He was too busy watching the two of them fighting. He was use to Chie-senpai's fighting style, but he never had the chance to watch Yu-senpai since the TV world wasn't the right place to watch other people when Kanji needed to watch himself. Yu-senpai didn't look like a fighter; he was very clean-cut and deceptively skinny. But watching him made it abundantly clear that he was a natural. Every strike was made with such precision and every one of Chie-senpai's kicks were blocked such speed that it was hard to believe that Yu-senpai wasn't professionally trained. Even without his personas, Yu-senpai was a force to be reckoned with and Kanji was both excited and nervous to face him. After only a few minutes, Yu-senpai grabbed one of Chie-senpai's kicks and flipped her around so that she landed hard on the ground.

"OK, OK, I give!" Chie-senpai said, putting up her hands. Yu-senpai smiled and nodded, putting out a hand to help her up. She took it, rubbing her sore bottom as she stood.

"You're getting better." Yu-senpai told her, causing her to blush. He turned and looked at Kanji. "You ready?"

"Y-yeah," Kanji responded, nodding. He walked over and readied himself.

"Go easy on me, OK?" Yu-senpai asked him. This confused Kanji for a second. Was Yu-senpai as nervous about facing him as Kanji was about facing Yu-senpai? This thought made him feel a little bit proud of himself, but that feeling was quickly silenced when Yu-senpai came at him. He was fast, faster than he looked when was facing Chie-senpai. Kanji found himself on the defense right off the bat and had trouble finding a opening to take over the offense. It was obvious that Yu-senpai was faster than him, but Kanji was sure that he was stronger. Every punch he threw, Yu-senpai dodged and Kanji was starting to get frustrated. But then he got lucky and Yu-senpai missed his mark. Smiling, Kanji wound up a punch and went at him with as much strength as he thought Yu-senpai could handle, which was quite a bit. As Kanji swung, Yu-senpai was more than prepared for it. He rolled out of the way, causing Kanji to stumble forward. At the same time, Yu-senpai put out his leg and tripped him. Kanji fell hard, right on his face. Before he could move, he felt the weight of Yu-senpai's foot on his back. Kanji knew he was done; Yu-senpai had won this match. Kanji could hear Chie-senpai cheering and laughing, and a wave of embarrassment washed over him.

"Alright, git off!" Kanji growled, flipping over quickly making Yu-senpai stumble. Kanji stood and dusted himself off. "You win this time, senpai, but I'll beat you eventually."

"Yeah, right." Chie-senpai chimed in. "There's a reason he's our leader."

"Hey, you never know. With some extra practice, you could've won that one." Yu-senpai reassured him. "You almost got me with that last punch."

"Well all right!" Kanji cheered, his confidence restored. The sun was just starting to set in the sky. They agreed that it was about time to head home. After saying goodbye to Yu-senpai, Kanji and Chie-senpai finished packing up their things.

"So…You wanna know why he beat you?" Chie-senpai asked him.

"What? Hey, he beat you, too!"

"Yes, and I know why he beat me. It's the same reason you beat me all of the time: he improvises. That and because he's stronger than me. And faster…So, do you wanna know or not?" Kanji thought for a moment before his curiosity took him over.

"Yeah, tell me why if you're so smart."

"It's because you have no technique." she told him, matter-of-factually. "All you do when you fight are big punches, which works great against me since I can't dodge all of them. But against Yu, he's not only faster than you but he's also smarter than you. He knew exactly what you were gonna do before you did it. That's why he was able to dodge that last attack. Brawling tactics are great, but it'll only get you so far before your opponent figures out your pattern. You need to change it up a bit."

"Brute strength is all I know." Kanji admitted.

"That's what these training sessions are for!" Chie-senpai said, patting him on the back. "We'll both get better and maybe, someday, we can both beat Yu." Kanji smiled at her.

"Hey, then do ya think everyone'll let me be the leader?" he asked. Chie-senpai gave him a look and Kanji started laughing. She started laughing as well and the two of them started walking home for the evening.

Kanji and Chie feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…


	4. Rank 4

"Awww maaaan!" Chie whined, peering into the window of the abandoned Souzai Daigaku. There was a large sign hanging there that read 'Closed due to illness'.

"Well, would you rather them be open and serving with a sick cook?" Kanji asked her from the sidewalk behind her.

"No…" Chie replied sadly, turning away from the shop. The two had decided that, because of cramming for exams, they would take a break from training for the week. So, instead, they were going to stop for some beef steak before returning to their studies. But Souzai Daigaku being closed threw a wrench into their plans, which dampened Chie's spirits considerably. She had been looking forward to a treat after working so hard the past few days and nothing cheered her up like some good meat.

"We could go to Aiya for some ramen." Kanji suggested, but Chie shook her head.

"I just had that yesterday."

"How about heading over to Junes?"

"I'm too hungry for that!" she pouted, her stomach growling in perfect timing. Kanji grumbled in frustration, looking around for inspiration.

"Well, my house is right over there." he said. "Maybe my ma's home and could whip us up something real fast." Chie's eyes lit up. She was quite hungry and across the street sounded a lot better than across town.

"Alright! Let's go!" she said, sprinting over to Tatsumi Textiles. There was a sign on the counter indicating that the shop would be closed for a little while. Assuming she was in back making dinner already, Kanji headed in with Chie following close behind.

"Ma? Hey Ma!" Kanji called, searching the house. Chie waited in the living room for him to return. He came back a few minutes later. "No luck." he told her. "I'm not sure where she went, but she sure as hell ain't here."

"Oh well," Chie said, sighing. "I guess it's off to Junes…" She was truly disappointed; from what she had heard, Kanji's mother was a pretty good cook. Kanji must've noticed because he sighed loudly again.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this, but I could try and make something myself." A look of shock showed clearly on her face and Kanji blushed. "H-hey! Don't look so damn surprised!"

"Honestly, I'm only kinda surprised, knowing your skill with crafty things. I'm sure cooking isn't that far of a stretch."

"Well, I've only just starting to learn, so I have no idea if I'm any good. But if you are really that hungry, I could try something simple." Chie considered the offer for a moment.

"I am. I really am." she told him. Kanji nodded and went into the kitchen. Chie waited nervously in the living room. The only guy who's food she had ever eaten before was Yu's, so she wasn't sure what to expect. It was especially strange being made food by Kanji, but he always seemed to have a new surprise up his sleeve so who know how this would turn out. After a short while, Kanji came back with two bowls of food. When he set it on the table in front of her, Chie could see that it was a simple beef and rice dish, with some veggies thrown in for good measure. Kanji looked on with earnest as she took her first bite. Almost immediately the flavor hit her. It was hard to describe, but there was one thing Chie knew for sure: it was awful. The rice was under cooked and hard, the meat was fatty, and the veggies were overdone and mushy. It took a second for her brain to talk her mouth into swallowing it.

"What?" Kanji asked, reacting to the face she made.

"I'm sorry to tell you this, Kanji, but you are a terrible cook." she said, taking another mouthful.

"W-well, if it's so damn bad, why the hell are you still eating it!?"

"Because meat's still meat." Chie replied. "And I'm starving!" Kanji shook his head as he sat down to eat, not questioning her reasoning.

"Hey, this isn't as bad as you made it sound." he protested after taking a few bites.

"I'm not so sure about that, but it is at least edible."Chie said. "I will say this, though: If the only thing you have trouble with is cooking, I wouldn't be too upset. I'm actually a little jealous that you're a far better girl than me…"

"W-what!?" Kanji asked, confused. "W-what the hell do you mean by that!?"

"Hold on a sec! It's a complement, I promise!" Chie consoled him quickly before he got too mad at her. "What I mean is that you are good at way more 'girly' things than me. You can't tell me that I'm wrong about that."

"Fine, but tell me this: Who decides what's girly or not? I'm a guy and I knit. You're a girl and you're into kung fu. Who cares?" Chie thought about this for a minute.

"I suppose you're right." she finally said. "If you can accept your quirks, then I should be able to accept mine."

"Besides, if you are ever worried about your 'girliness', you can always fall back on your fear of bugs. Or lightening. Or ghost stories…"

"OK, OK, I get the idea!" Chie yelled at him. Kanji gave her a mischievous grin. "How the hell did you know about all of that anyway?"

"A little bit of paying attention, a lot of Yosuke-senpai being a big mouth."

"Yosuke, huh?" Chie said, glaring. "Let's see if I do anything nice for him again…" Kanji chuckled, assumingly at the fact that he had inadvertently gotten Yosuke in trouble. Chie and Kanji continued eating and evening passed with far less studying than they had initially intended.

Kanji and Chie feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…


	5. Rank 5

The second day of Inaba's summer festival was in full swing as evening settled over the town. Groups of families and friends wandered among the stalls, some dressed up in festival attire, some not. And at the very edge of it all stood Kanji, wearing his normal summer clothes, eating a topsicle, and watching the people walk by. He found himself with nothing to do this evening and he was always up for some good festival food. He also figured that maybe he'd run into a few of his friends. Sure enough, just as the sun set and the lights of the fest began to glow, Kanji heard some familiar voices coming towards him.

"Come on, Chie! I wanna go get some more ice cream!"

"Hold on, Teddie! You're gonna pull my arm off!"

"You heard her, you dumb bear! Let her go! And slow down, I'm gonna spill her food!" Kanji looked around and saw three of his friends: Yosuke-senpai, Chie-senpai, and Teddie. Teddie had a grip on Chie-senpai's arm and was dragging her along, while Yosuke-senpai was trying to keep up and hold on to what looked like a steak bowl. Somehow nothing about the scene surprised Kanji in the least.

"Hey! You guys!" Kanji called when the others were close enough.

"Oh, look! It's Kanji!" Teddie said cheerfully. Chie-senpai took the distraction to pull her arm free.

"Finally!" she said, rushing over to Yosuke-senpai. "Gimme that bowl! I'm starved!"

"Ok, geez!" he said as she yanked the bowl from his hands. "Just make sure to leave me my fingers!" That remark earned him a healthy glare, but she was too busy eating to respond. "So, what are you doing over here, all by yourself?"

"Nothin' much." Kanji replied. "Was bored at home, so I figured I'd hang out here and maybe run into some of you guys. I was just people watchin' till then."

"People watching?" Yosuke-senpai said, suspicious. "Yeah, cause that's not creepy at all..."

"Hey! It ain't creepy! I just like all of the outfits, that's all!"

"Uh-huh..." Yosuke-senpai looked off to the side as something further on into the fest caught his eye. "Just people watching, you say? I'd say more like 'person' watching...and that's still creepy." Kanji followed his gaze to figure out what he was talking about and his stomach immediately leaped up into his throat. Standing at a stall across the way was a particular blue-clad boy, speaking to the person working there.

"T-that's...Hey! That ain't why I'm here!" Kanji protested. "I didn't even know he was gonna be here!"

"Come on, Yosuke, leave him alone." Chie-senpai said, taking one last bite of her food. "How the heck was he suppose to know that?"

"A-and anyways!" Kanji said. "I seem to remember a certain pair following me around like creepers a little while back..."

"Wait, so Yosuke was stalking Kanji!?" Teddie chimed in, thoroughly entertained.

"H-how's about we change the subject?" Yosuke-senpai said quickly, pushing Teddie away.

"What are you three up to?" Kanji asked.

"I had to make a run for Junes when I ran into Chie and then Teddie showed up just as I was about to get some free food!" he replied, pouting.

"I'm still good for it!" Chie-senpai reassured him. "Just pick something."

"OK, how about...huh?" Yosuke-senpai stopped mid-sentence as he noticed that Teddie was at one of the stalls, chatting up the female attendant who was giggling like a school girl. "Hey! You! Would you cut that out!" Kanji and Chie-senpai laughed as he went over to get the runaway bear.

"Hey, Chie-senpai? Can I ask you something?" Kanji said after a few moments.

"What's up, Kanji?"

"Since we caught that murderer...Now what?" Chie-senpai looked at him, curious.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know...We spent all this time tryin' to catch the bastard, so what do we do now that we did it?"

"I guess...we go back to our everyday lives."

"That's the problem. I mean, my old everyday life is pretty different from my new one." Kanji sighed.

"There's nothing wrong with that. It just means you grew from the experience. I have, too. Everything that's happened, it's gotten me thinking...about the future and stuff..."

"The future?" Chie-senpai smiled at him.

"Yeah. I never thought about it much before, but I am now. Learning about myself helped me sort out who I want to be, you know?" Kanji was quiet for a bit, thinking about what she just said.

"Future, huh?" he finally said, scratching his head. "I'm not sure I'm ready for all that yet. But I think I get what you mean. Maybe I'll stick to near future. Like, I hope we all stay friends now that this is over. That's something new I'd definitely like to keep."

"Of course!" Chie-senpai said, laughing and shoving his shoulder a little. "Aww, Kanji, you really are just a big, old softy, aren't you?'

"H-hey! S-shut up!" Kanji said, blushing. "Ain't nothing soft about me!"

"Um...Kanji? What the hell are you talking about?" Yosuke-senpai and Teddie had just walked back over and only heard the last thing Kanji had said. "Are you being creepy again?"

"I already told ya, I ain't creepy! Say that again and I'll introduce you to my fist!" Chie-senpai and Teddie laughed as Kanji chased Yosuke-senpai around the festival.

Kanji and Chie feel their relationship has grown yet deeper…


End file.
